East Lancashire Masonic Charity

ELMC give £50, 000 to new Manchester Childrens' Hospital

 

 

The new Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital opened on 11th June. It is the largest children’s hospital in the UK with 371 beds. It replaces Booth Hall and Pendlebury Children's Hospitals which are now closed.  There are new Children's Accident & Emergency Departments at the new Children's Hospital and at North Manchester General Hospital.

The Royal Manchester Childrens' Hospital is part of The New Hospitals Development, an investment of over £500 million into healthcare services for Manchester and the North West.

It is the largest single investment ever to take place in Greater Manchester Hospitals,resulting in not only a brand new Children’s Hospital but also new facilities for Manchester Royal Infirmary, Saint Mary’s Hospital for Women and Children and Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.

The New Children’s Hospital Appeal, under the Chairmanship of Maurice Watkins, launched in May 2006 with the goal of raising £20 million to provide the new hospital with state-of-the-art equipment to help the doctors provide the patients with the very best in diagnosis and care. Also parental accommodation (so that parents can stay close to their child during treatment) and educational facilities, for example.

They reached this £20M target with some assistance from East Lancashire Freemasons who donated £50,000 from the East Lancashire Masonic Charity. RWBro Jack Price, Provincial Grand Master, WBro Paul Rose, Chairman of the ELMC Board and Mrs Julie Ward, ELMC Welfare Manager (pictured here with Maurice Watkins) went on 23rd November 2009 to present the cheque and were treated to a tour around the Hospital.

 

 

 

The transition period during which patients and equipment were transferred from the old hospitals to the new hospital was thought out very carefully. Patients were brough individually in ambulances with the emphasis being on their care and safety. One of the obvious differences, apart from the open and spacious plan, is that over 50% of the patient areas are now modern cubicle areas that allow for greater privacy.

 

 

 

The Installation of hydrotherapy equipment and a pool means a tremendous amount to those recovering from major surgery or orthopaedic conditions - especially when they are first trying to find their legs - as was explained by Jeanette Nelia, the physiotherapy Manager and Christine Cammiss, the Lead Physiotherapist (right).

 

 

 

 

The private rooms with smart pull-down beds (shown left) for parents to use make a tremendous difference to childrens' hospital stays and to parents who now have somewhere proper to sleep rather than the previous, so often, on a hospital chair. There are also en-suite facilities rather than communal toilets for example.

 

 

 

 

Toddlers and other small children now have clean and well equipped play and role play areas (see below where Julie Ward, Jack Price and Paul Rose take advantage of the facilities). This gives young children their own areas to socialise and play in with parents or carers, away from the wards. In return Jack received grateful thanks from the Appeal Board for the generous donation of £50,000 made by the Freemasons of East Lancashire through the ELMC under the wise Chairmanship of Paul Rose.

Similar facilities are seen below but this time for teens who now have their own recreation area (the Teen - Zone) complete with games machines, bar, TV and 'chill-out' rooms etc. This area is theirs and again gives them somewhere to socialise together in the evenings. Advantage is also taken of the childrens' collective input - they have had their say in chosing say decor and are even involved in developing consent and treatment plans for themselves.

Even the roof area is utilised as an outdoor play area (see below) with safety synthetic flooring and thick perspex barriers (that give clear views of the surrounding landscaped gardens and other hospital buildings).

Of course young people, even in hospital need to learn and there is a hospital school complete with teachers, headmaster and classrooms whre longer term patients can keep up with their education and not be left behind their contempories outside hospital.

 

Bringing the hospitals together means great improvements in the level of care offered. Now all the Consultants are under one roof and there is far more space for equipment storage and to treat patients (invaluable in emergencies) Having the teams together means that the approach to clinical care and training is consistent between everyone. Theatre areas are all accessible on one floor and there are simple passages to get to other buildings if more specialised care is required (e.g. for burns victims).

The Provincial Grand Master was grateful for the opportunity to see this magnificent complex and particularly to Jennifer Yates from the Appeals Trust, Sister Clare Woodall, Anna Addison (Senior Management Team) and Maurice Watkins (Appeal Chairman) who took the time to show Julie, Paul and him this magnificent facility.